Grade 3 - How Government Helps Our Communities

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Video Storyline: Introduce your students to the 3 branches of government and the roles performed by each. They will also hear about their state and local governments. Lastly, they will begin to understand that they are citizens with rights and responsibilities.

Video length: 14:03 minutes.

Learning Resources with this Video*

Quizzes – PDF & Online

United States Government Crossword

The 3 Branches of Government

US Government and Communities Interactive Game Overview

My Leaders

Draw A Scene – How Government Helps Our Communities

Universal Resources

National Standards

*Links are active on Full Video page.

Classroom Ideas 

How Government Helps Our Communities

Independence Day around the World

Compare/contrast celebrations such as Independence Day in the U.S., Bastille Day (France) and National Revolution Day (Cuba). Explore the similarities and differences between these celebrations.

 

Cloze Practice

A cloze piece has full sentences used in the virtual field trip with blanks where students can write in the information that is missing. This task requires close listening to the trip in order to complete it.

Coral reefs are the _______ type of ecosystem in the world. They’ve been around for over _____ million years.

Answers:  oldest; 240

Alternatively, you could have students create 5-10 cloze statements and they could share those with the class.

A third alternative is to distribute the cloze worksheets before watching the video.  Students can fill them in as they watch.

Create Quizzes

Students create a quiz based on the information presented for their peers. This can be used as a review for a test, or jigsaw class activity where students are responsible for teaching other students assigned topics.

 

Student Policymakers

Students will create government policies about cyberbullying and digital citizenship as if they were in Congress/Senate. 

 

Running the Government

Visit your local city hall and/or state capital to find out more information about how the city and state governments are similar to the federal government. Find out how they create new laws. Discuss opportunities in which older students can become directly involved in their state and federal government. There are several programs that do just this.

Explore Vocabulary

Identify key vocabulary terms while previewing each video. Prompt students to find the meaning of each word as they watch the video.

Art and Social Studies

Draw a scene from the video you just watched.

Visual Learning

Offer videos to struggling learners as another means of creating knowledge and accessing information. 

Classroom Ideas for ALL Videos

Here are dozens and dozens of ideas that you can use in your classroom along with our videos!

Topics Covered In This Video

There are 3 levels of government – local, state, and national

National government has 3 branches

Description of 3 branches

Each state also has 3 branches

Local governments have mayors and councils

People are citizens of all 3 levels

Citizens have rights and responsibilities

Videos in this Series

Grade 3 - The Geography of Our Communities

Grade 3 - A Country of Cultures

Grade 3 - I Am A Consumer

Grade 3 - Businesses At Work

Grade 3 - The First Americans

Grade 3 - How The Country Was Settled

Related Videos

Grade 2 - Our Government At Work

Grade 1 - Let's Learn About The Government

Washington, DC (Grades K-5)

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